Pump-operated portable mixing apparatus



cu m JNVENTOR. WARREN E. RuPP BY 11; 0 WW ATTORNEY.

6 Sheets-Sheet l W E RUPP PUMP-OPERATED PORTABLE MIXING APPARATUS Filed De. 51. 1948 1 April 7, 1953 w. E. RUPP 2,634,110

PUMP-OPERATED PORTABLE MIXING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 31, 1948 e Sheets-Sheet z FTGE JNVENTOR. WARREN E. RuPP BY A ATTORNEY April 7, 1953 w. E. RUPP 2,634,110

- PUMP-OPERATED PORTABLE MIXING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 31, 1948 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 -INVENTOR.

F 6 3 BYWARREN E'RuPP ATTORNEY April 7, 1953 w, RUPP PUMP-OPERATED PORTABLE MIXING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 51, 1948 INVENTOR. WARREN E. RUPP ATTORNEY April 7, 1953 w. E. RUPP PUMP-OPERATED PORTABLE MIXING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 31, 1948 w m mmwm 0 m a m m d W to those skilled in the art to which my invention relates from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention, parts being broken away.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation, looking toward the left of Fig. l. V

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view partly in section on the line line 5--5 of Fig. 4.

Figs. 6 and 7 are fragmentary sections on the lines 66 and 1-l' respectively, of Fig. 3.

Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic views.

In the drawings, I indicates as an entirety a base mounted on a wheel supported frame 2, which may consist of a power driven vehicle or truck or a trailer adapted to be towed by a tractor or truck, whereby the aparatus may be transported to locations where the prepared material is to be used. The base I may be removably mounted on the frame 2, whereby it and parts mounted thereon may be shipped or delivered as a separate unitary structure for mounting on a portable frame by a user. The base I consists of a pair of elongated members la each provided with a longitudinally extending U-member lb on which a tank 3 is supported, the side Walls of the tank being welded to the upper end of the U-members, whereby the members la are rigidly connected in spaced parallel relation. The outer legs or sides of the U-members lb support inner and outer channels lc, lc, on which are mounted channels Id forming a sub-base l for a power driven liquid pumping mechanism, indicated as an entirety at 4. The tank 3 consists of end walls 3a, side walls 312, a bottom wall and a top wall 3d forming a closed chamber. The tank 3 may be of any desired shape in cross section, but the bottom wall 30 is preferably of arcuate shape for a purpose later set forth, as well as to insure drainage and emptying of the tank. The bottom wall 30 is provided with a sump 5 for a purpose later apparent. The sump 5 is disposed adjacent that end wall 3a, which is adjacent the pumping mechanism 4, and provided with a drain opening closed by a plug Set.

By preference, the bottom 30 is provided with a separate drain opening closed by a plug 30. The top wall 312 of the tank is formed with a filling opening having an annular seat member 6 adapted tobe closed by a hinged cover. 611 having latching devices Eh. I indicates a liquid distributing member extending into the tank 3, and forming a portion of a liquid supply conduit later referred to. The member 1 preferably consists of a pipe disposed in the lower portion and extending longitudinally of the tank 3 and within the latter the pipe is formed along its lower side with discharge openings 1a. As shown in Fig. 2, the distributing pipe 1 is disposed at one side of an imaginary vertical plane cutting the axis of the tank 3 and the discharge openings Ia are disposed on the inner side of the pipe 1, so that the streams of liquid being discharged through the openings Ila impinge on or strike the substance or substances in the tank at an angle and co-act with the curvature of the bottom Wall to simultaneously agitate the substance and to induce flow thereof initially transversely of the tank bottom and in a general circuitous path within the tank to insure a rapid disintegration of the substance, intimate contact thereof with the water and production of a body of fiuid material capable of being sprayed, the flow and circulation of the mixture within the tank being speeded up as the disintegration of the substance or substances takes place.

The liquid circulating mechanism 4 comprises a suitable power supply 4a mounted on the sub-base l and shown as consisting of an internal combustion engine, the shaft 412 of which is extended and connected to the impeller 8 of a centrifugal pump 8a (see Fig. 4), which operates to supply liquid to the tank and to discharge the prepared or conditioned material therefrom, as later set forth. It will be apparent that the power supply 40. may consist of an electric motor when found desirable. The shaft 4b is preferably extended outwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, and provided with a pulley 4c for engagement by an endless belt (not shown), whereby the shaft may be driven by an auxiliary power driven device on the frame 2 or other support. The impeller 8 is mounted and rotates in a casing forming part of a sectional housing indicated as an entirety at 9. The housing 9 is shaped to form at its upper end a flow chamber 9a and a valve chamber 9b (Figs. 4, 5, and 6), the latter chamber housing two two-way rotary valves H], Inc, in endwise relation. The chamber 9b is connected (a) by an intake duct 90 with the inlet opening 8b of the impeller chamber of the pump 8a and (b) by an outtake duct 9d leading'from the discharge opening 80 of the pump 8a. The valve I0 controls the flow of liquid through the intake duct 90 to the pump 8a when the tank 3 i being filled therewith, when the liquid is being circulated from the tank and returned thereto, or when the treating material is being supplied to the flow chamber 9a for discharge therefrom, whereas the valve Illa controls the flow of the liquid from the pump 8a into the tank 3, when the latter is being initially filled with water and during circulation of the water or mixture from and to the tank, but when the mixing operation is completed and the treating material is to be discharged from the tank, the valve Illa connects the duct lid with the flow chamber 9a for discharge therefrom. That end of the flow chamber 9a adjacent the valve H] is formed with an opening 93:, to which is connected a flexible hose H terminating in a perforated member Ila adapted to be submerged in a con- 7 tainer filled with water, a well or other adequate water supply, whereby, upon operation of the pump 8a, water may be sucked in through the hose II and discharged into the tank 3. When initially filling the tank 3, the opening 9a: forms an inlet, but when the material is being discharged from the tank 3 the opening 9x forms an outlet and the member I la then serves as a nozzle in filling the reservoir for the spraying equipment. The outer side of the side wall of the chamber 9a surrounding the opening 920 is provided with a collar 9x having an internal screw threaded wall arranged to be engaged by the threaded coupling member Hat on the inner end of the hose H. The front wall 9e of the valve chamber 9b is formed with openings l2, l2a, whereas the bottom wall 9, of the chamber 9b is itormed with iopenings haped to form bearings'i'for ithewalve elemefits ma l-Dar, so thattthose portions;df theIintrier walls adjacent the 'openings 4 2, 12a, 1 2b, 120, Eprevitle valve seats fo'r the valve element f film,

101:, of the valves l0, Illa, respectively. As shown in Figs. 1,2,91, 5, 6iandilfithe opening l2 isrconnected ito i'a supply pipe [3, whi'h in :turn

' isreomieted to the pipe 'l outwardly- 'of the'ltank :3 itEig. 11 ,iwhereas'ithempening new is connected euupiea -"with -the outer end dff th'e distributing ime'mher l,isolthat the pipe* twand -menibefl prov'iiie a ontinuous conduit serving ito supply iliqufdito "the tank 3, :as -later set forth; also, as ashown ini Figs. 1 and 2, th'epipes i l3 and H rare *respectively fon'n'ed of-=seeti'ons 1 suitably "coupled. these coupling conn'ecti'ons serving to facilitate assembly-operations. V

4 In thearrangement shown-and above desciibed,

position 4 shown in -fdl1 5 lines (Figs. 6 and 7') the valve I I! connects the -haniber 9a with the-duct 9c and valve Hla conneetsthe outtake duct 911 with the pipe 13'; when the valve elements -are "9a, v?hereby 'th'e'material in the 'tank '3 is con- "veyed totheeharnberfia and discharged-through construction of-"the valves I 0, l l M, "and adjacent "walls off'the "housing 9 -'-are"materia1ly *s'implified, "ready assembly ;of the "valve elements 40:13, I :11,

results and provision "of "gaskets "and glands are feliniinate'd; 'i'shown "in "Figs. and $6, the -l 1'o' x'1si'ng (:hamber "9b is openat its "opposite ends "to permit the "bodily assembly "of "the valve ele- "ments "and closed by removable end walls fab *bbltd in position as most clearly shown'in Fig.

*4. 'The va1velements :0, l-Bit", are maintained against the-end walls 9b "by a compression spring 92)" 'bearing *at its opposite "ends against the inrier ehdwallsmf the =valve elements, as shown in Fig. 3. "'As shown in -Fig. "3, the outer end --'wa'11 of eachvalve element 1611:, 1 6.03 is'provide'd with -a hollow shank l 0.7? extending outwardly and beyond the adj a'cent endwall of the cham- =ber and in-to the =sp1it' hub ft "of a l lever l5a.

B57 preference, the shank lilrix" and inner wall to'f -the hub l'i'are of "complementary; non-circular s'h ape and the split' -portions "6f the hub tare damped to the shank by a bolt 1 I 6. Theimpeller o'f 'the pump fla rotatesin aj'chamber 1 Fformed between th'e' housing walls I 8, I 8a and '9. Themall l'9 is"integral with the outer en'd b'f tubte' l tiaithrough whichthe shaft l'lrexitends; sthe i'inner c endaori'the tube i 921* is integral with ma .be'll ishaped mange 1% Which;;is;. uita;b1y

1 impeller 33 fdbn'si stsfdfitaldisk?8E1 havingsazplurality iblades 8e arepreferablyintegrallys connectedwwith the marginal portion of 1' the fzdisk 8d Land IOfiSBt therefrom so as to revolve in iaxzsp'ace 1' disposedin itheipl'anerof 1 the 'opening'rltc. a'AsZShDWh win-Rigel, the supply or inlet :duct leads Ito the impeller 8 axi'all-y thereof and iinwa'rdly TOf i -the. inneriends ho'f 'the blaides tie.

The impeller r'chamber 1| '1 may "be :iiormed with a drain opening, closed by a suitable screw zplug =2 3 alsothe'ftopiwall'iofitherhamberieaa islforined with an i opening, closed by :a :sc'r'ewi plug 21 Z'In 'fadditi'on ito :the wall .19, the l housing 9 :ccm-

sists i'of connected together sectinns zzto i'form i'xthe i-ti'on's will depend Ion vari'ous 'r'fa6tors,:such asrapacity ofzthe mechanism,irassemblyroperations,:sas

well as the kind of L materialzemploye'd.

The inner end -wa1lr3a of the tank is :lprovided 'with a series of pet coks 22 iiispo'sed at 'successive vertical levels and indep'endently operable to serve as a gage. By opening ea'chpeticockithe approximate amount of the :mixture in theitank 3 at any time "can be gaged aso as ito determine l/711817119102, sufiicien't quantity of the material is avaliable "to =e'ffect a Jclesired spraying operation or sueh "quantity is insuificient' 'for the :operation contemplated. *By ropening i the-pet coe'k zmat the level correspondingi'to that attained when-e predetermined quantity of water is tobesupplied to 'the -tan-k and then "operating the mechanism to supply Water to the tank, 'disr' zharge or water "or the mixture through the met "cock will indieite when to *cut'ofi' thesupplvof the' water.

O'perattio1t-.--Fir-st t'he tank f 3 is 'filled with any desired quantity'df the' substance or substances to i be treated. By"preferenee-suh= quantity in rla- 'tion to6'00 gallons o'f water wi1l=consist=df eff-lbs. of lime and Slflflll" or 24 lbs; df-=copper-sulphate It will be understood that such proportions =are approximate a'n'd may be varied; also, that th chamber 9a;'va1ve Inductee tqpumptlaahdfrom ipumpi 8a through duct 59d, valve 'I (la "andipipe I 3 to distributor pipe "1. Whenithe desired quantity of water issuppliedto' tank 3; asiindicatedbyfoutflow through the selected jp'et cock" 2'2'Whi'eh'was previously-opened, tbe'valveilemerit [11x isrotatefd to? its other-position (see"'Fig."9 and dottedflines .zwherevsprayingfi the iltank'i3 willlbe drawn therfromthrouhhipe i valve; [0 and duet sc xto .the pump lsavtliieh will force the. liquid throug'h duct 9d, (valve gum,

eandssupplytpipe'i 3 to'athe .distributoripipel-l. The circulation of the liquid from the tank-firandare- :turn thereintot is continued (until-all of the solid -substance ;0r substances have=beenzdisintegrated, {mixed and/0r dissolved. The pump 8a :is it-hen fzstopped"andcth'ei'apparatusf'transpontedltothearea .;to :bei,earried.1out; .Thezmember' bcltedxo ithefcasinfgroflthametorrfiniWig.- 4) f'l he W "rt In .xis zinserted yin the xreserrvoir .aof. :theispraymg equipment, the valve elements low, like, are positioned as shown in Fig. (see dotted lines in Fig. 6) and pump 8a is started, the efiect of which is to induce flow of the material from the tank 3,

through pipe I4, valve l0, duct 90, to pump 8a and from pump 8a through duct 9d, valve Ifla, chamber 9a and hose l I to thus fill the reservoir of the equipment with the material. It will be observed that the circulation of the materials from the tank 3 and into the tank may be carried out while the apparatus is being transported to the area to be sprayed.

From the foregoing description it will be observed that I provide a unitary simplified mechanism having flow conduits so connected with the inlet and discharge opening, impeller and tank that the respective operations of supplying the desired quantity of liquid to the tank, circulating the liquid from the bottom of the tank and into the tank for re-contact with and disintegration of the substance to be conditioned and discharge of the conditioned material from the tank may be carried out by the operation of two independently operated valves.

To those skilled in the art to which my invention relates, many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will be apparent without departing from its spirit and scope. My disclosures and the illustration herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in any sense limiting.

What I claim is:

1. In a mixing apparatus, the combination of a tank adapted to receive a quantity of a substance and provided therein with a hollow member for the distribution of a liquid for mixing with the substance, a supply pipe connected with said distribution member, a discharge pipe leading from the bottom of said tank, a housing providing a flow chamber formed with an opening for the intake of the liquid from a source of supply and for discharge of the mixture, a valve chamber, a power driven pump having an intake duct leading fromsaid valve chamber to the intake thereof and a discharge duct leading from the outlet for said pump to said valve chamber, a two-way valve between the discharge end of said discharge pipe, the inlet end of said intake duct and said flow chamber to direct flow of liquid from said flow chamber to the intake duct for said pump or flow of mixture from said discharge pipe to the intake duct for said pump, and a separate two-way valve between the outlet end of said discharge duct, the inlet end of said supply pipe and said flow chamber to direct flow of mixture tosaid supply pipe or to said fiow chamber for discharge through said opening, said valves when in one position providing for flow of liquid under influence of said pump from a source of supply through said opening to said distribution member and discharge into said tank and when said first mentioned valve is in another position providing for flow of the mixture under influence of said pump from said tank through said discharge and supply pipes to said tank and when said last mentioned valve is in another position under the infinance of said pump to discharge the mixture through said discharge pipe, flow chamber and said opening.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said intake duct and said discharge duct are connected to the bottom wall of said valve chamber and the discharge and supply pipes are connected to the adjacent side wall of said valve chamber, and said two-way valves are rotatably mounted in the'walls of said valve chamber one two-way valve providing a connection between said flow chamber and said intake duct or between said discharge pipe and said intake duct for said pump and the other two-way valve providing a connection between said discharge duct and said supply pipe or between said discharge duct and said flow of outlets for discharging a liquid into contact with the substance, a liquid supply pipe connected to said hollow member, a discharge pipe leading from the bottom of said tank, a power driven pump having an intake duct and a discharge duct, a housing forming a flow chamber one wall of which is formed with an opening through which liquid from asource of supply flows into said chamber and through which the mixture is discharged from said flow chamber, and separate two-way valves, when in one position, respectively connecting said discharge pipe to said intake duct and said discharge duct to said supply pipe for circulating liquid and mixture from said tank, through said pipes and into said tank, independently of said flow chamber, the valve between said intake duct and discharge pipe, when in its other position, being arranged to cut ofi' said discharge pipe and connect said fiow chamber to said intake duct, whereby the operation of said pump will induce a flow of material from the source of supply through said opening, flow chamber and intake duct and discharge it through said discharge duct and supply pipe to said hollow member and said valve between said discharge duct and said supply pipe, when in its other position, being arranged to cut ofi? said supply pipe and connect said discharge duct to said flow chamber, whereby, with said first valve in its first mentioned position, operation of said pump will induce a flow of the mixture from said tank through said discharge pipe, intake duct, discharge duct to said flow chamber for discharge through said opening.

4. In mixing apparatus, the combination of a tank adapted to receive a quantity of a substance or substances and provided therein with a liquid distributor member formed with discharge outlets, a supply pipe connected at its outer end to said distributor member, a discharge pipe leading from the lower portion of said tank, a mechanism including a housing shaped to form a flow chamber and a valve chamber the end walls of which latter chamber are formed with alined openings, an intermediate wall in said valve chamber and formed with an opening axially related to said alined openings, a power driven pump mounted in said housing, an intake duct connected to the intake of said pump, an outtake duct leading from said pump, said fiow chamber being formed with an opening through which liquid from a source of supply flows to said chamber and through which the mixture is discharged from said chamber, one side wall of said valve chamber being formed with openings connected to the inlet end of said supply pipe and outlet end of said discharge pipe, respectively, another side wall of said valve chamber being formed with openings connected to said intake and outtake ducts, respectively, a two-way valve rotatably mounted at its opposite ends in the opening in the adjacent end wall of said valve chamber and the opening in said intermediate wall and between said outtake duct and said supply pipe and a separate two-way valve rotatably mounted at its opposite ends in the opening in the adjacent end wall of said valve chamber and the opening in said intermediate wall and between said discharge pipe and said intake duct, said valves being arranged when in one position to provide for flow of liquid under the influence of said pump through said supply and discharge opening to said distributor member and'discharge it into said tank, and when in another position to provide for flow of the material under influence of said pump from said tank through said discharge pipe for discharge through said supply and discharge opening, and when said first mentioned valve is in its first mentioned position and said separate valve is in its second mentioned position to connect said outtake REFERENCES CITED The following references are of, record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 659,278 Argerbright Oct. 9, 1900 1,227,369 Bell May 22, 1917 15 2,123,156 Jagoe July 5, 1938 Stribling et a1. June 24, 1941 

